I first heard of Twitter through a colleague who proclaimed it to be the next big thing in Social Media almost a year ago. I took it with a grain of salt as this same colleague says something similar about every social media application that cries to be heard (happens frequently, as we both work in SEO and social media), many of which have since flared and died. But Twitter has surprised and surpassed expectations on many levels, and this (and applications like it) could be important to writers.

I decided to make a post on it after reading a Tweet from @aaronnewman linking me to an article on CNN (“Who will be masters of the ever-expanding ‘Twitterverse’?”) that praises Twitter’s expansion in popularity across the globe.

I got into Twitter because it is a hangout for journalists, SEOs and prominent bloggers, some of whom I work with and many of whom I wanted to get to know better for professional reasons (also, because you guys are cool–shout out to @chrisbrogan, @problogger, @copyblogger and the rest of the people I follow). SEOs and bloggers have particular reasons to love Twitter that have nothing to do with the application’s purported function: to microblog about “what you are doing”.

Twitter has the following unique features:

I don’t know very many Twitter lovers who use Twitter to answer the question “what are you doing?” People do mention where they are (especially if they’re going on a trip or attending a conference) and occasionally use the service to muse aloud, ask rhetorical questions, or note surprising observations (e.g. I saw two homeless men arguing about who was first to beg on the same curb yesterday–very tweetable), but very few people use it to say “I am doing this…now I’m doing this…now I am doing this.”

Mostly, it is used for one of two things: promotion or spread of information.

Twitter’s success is a bit of surprise given that a lot of great social media ideas fail. Social media users are a bit like a swarm of locusts. The leaders find something juicy and introduce enough of their friends to make it fun, but when the party gets too big, resources become corrupt, “real” friends become scarce, and that feeling of being part of an “exclusive club” peters out, they scatter to new fields (social media competitors or the newest innovation creating a buzz), taking their followers with them and leaving the original application dry, empty, and bereft of life (and profit).

But who am I kidding? I work in social media, but I am not a social media leader. Being a social media butterfly is exhausting. Every time someone tells me to get on the latest social media bus, I have to give up something else to make time for it. There are just too many applications in social media. It can be a full time job, and I have to admit that I prefer RL friends and productivity. Social media applications I “stick with” are those where my friends hang out already or those that have something professional to offer as a resource. For me, Twitter provides both. It is an easy way to converse with and meet people in my field who live nowhere near me as well as yak with my friends and coworkers. And then there’s the links links links.

Why do I mention Twitter in a writing blog?

It should be obvious. Too many writers are not interested in marketing their work, but you HAVE to be. Don’t leave it to your publisher. After all that work to get published, don’t let your beautiful book go into the half-off pile because you didn’t TRY to promote it. Don’t assume the content will speak for itself! Don’t assume someone else will sell it for you! Of course the content is important (if you have a bad book or a bad blog no one can help you…) but that is only part of the process. The other part is GETTING THE WORD OUT.

With applications like Twitter, it’s not even a headache! If you have a blog, website, online magazine, published book, or are in some other way in need of LINKS and READERS, Twitter can be your best friend. That is, after all, how I found @grammargirl. So don’t be bashful. If you have something meaningful to share, SHARE IT. Remember: no one will love or care or work as hard for your success as you do. (However, don’t become a Twitter Zombie; unauthentic = bad–Thanks for the tweet, @Jillwhalen!)

In the CNN article that @aaronnewman linked me to (using Twitter), the CEO of OneHourTranslation, Yaron Kaufman, who developed Twitrans, which provides free translation of tweets, was quoted saying the following:

“We think that Twitter is much more than just a cool idea,” says CEO Yaron Kaufman. “We think it will influence the way people communicate with each other. It makes the world smaller and flatter, and we are sure Twitrans will contribute to this important change.”

The concept that a “smaller and flatter” world is somehow desirable makes me laugh a bit, as it comes off (unintentionally, we hope) as “enclosed and shallow” but it’s clear what was meant. Twitter is idyllic as an Internet application. It is the essence of what the Internet stands for because of its simple power to connect people. Yaron Kaufman might be exaggerating a bit with the implication that an application like Twitter can change the world (to be smaller and flatter?) but social media applications like Twitter are changing things. As communication expands, the world evolves at an increasingly rapid rate.

That includes writing and the publishing industry.

Don’t you think?

You can follow me @amymstewart.